Wordie on DDD

Friday, January 21, 2011

Wow! I have finally decided to enter the world of blogging! What will I blog about? I will be blogging about the ups and downs of running your own business, and of course, being that my business is jewelry, I will also be writing about jewelry making.

As of Dec 30/10, I decided to post my jewelry lines on ETSY which is like EBAY for artisans. It's a great website, but very much dominated by the US since it is run from the US. However, there are a great deal of vendors world wide that sell on there and from what I see, pretty successfully. You can imagine my excitement when I sold my first piece before I even finished posting my photos that first day! I haven't sold a thing since!

There is great promise for me to keep my head up however as there are wonderful support groups, amazing blogs, newsletters, Teams, and emails to read to help support the business owner in setting up Shop and selling on ETSY. They even give you supporting hints on how to photograph your products properly (a HUGE consideration to take into account I am learning). For instance, consistancy. Are your backgrounds always the same shade? Do your close ups always show the product completely clear, with no blur? Are you using all five photo slots? If not, you should photograph your packaging and put photos of those in your empty slots. Then there are banners on your shop...does it send the message you want customers to know about you the first 2 seconds when they click onto your page? What about your BIO...does it say who you are..is it personal enough without being too personal? Oh my! So much to consider! And that is just a small token of what it takes to be a good shop owner!

I got lucky and found a great TEAM that I could join called JET Team, which stands for "Jewelers on ETSY Team" and I tell you, what a great group of men and women...though I think there is only one man named Bob! LOL There is a forum everyday that they all type into and support one another and share their new pieces of the day and talk about products and supplies and their families and each other and just the weather even. It's so much fun and really makes all of this new business stuff a lot easier. You don't feel so alone I guess...like what you're doing is not futile. There are many days I think "why the heck do I spend so much energy and time doing this when nobody is buying the product" but all it takes is that one customer to buy something and tell you how much they love it and thank you for your talents and creativity, then you think "this is why I do what I do" I feel God has purposed me with these gifts..I need to use them, even if it means not selling for a while and spending time online laughing it up with a bunch of other artisans going through the same thing as me. All I know is, Thank God for ETSY! Go JET Team GO!!!

Deb Jeffries

About Me

As in every art form, unique jewelry has the power
to enhance beauty, create moods, provoke opinions and produce reactions.Crystals, metals & gemstones have been
known to have the power to restore, heal and protect since the beginning of
time.

At her studio in London, Ontario, Debra spends time
creating pieces that reflect current style, elegance, uniqueness, and above
all, fun.This is the design
philosophy that jewelry designer Debra Jeffries follows in creating and
developing her own unique collection of hand-made jewelry. She designs her
pieces for the wearer to enhance their natural beauty with a complementary
color and style.When the mood strikes
to create, Debra finds inspiration for her designs from the beauty and power of
nature.

Debra loves to watch people try pieces on in her
studio or at one of the home parties that she hosts.“It is so inspiring to see other people realize that jewelry can
be beautiful without having to always conform to what is expected,"

One of the artist’s most popular pieces are her
butterfly wing pendants!“The colors
and beauty are so lively and complex.I
just had to try to capture their beauty and share what their short lives
produced”Debra works hard to share the
Monarch’s “At Risk” status with others and explains to all who ask why Monarch
wings are never used in her pieces.

Living in Canada offers Debraboundless opportunities to enjoy the beauty
of the outdoors and to be inspired by the power of nature.This is what she feels makes jewelry
really, truly memorable unusual and valuable.